Why the National Theatre is losing its audience

“I have been at the National Theatre for 30 years. Currently, I am working in its production unit. The unit is responsible for the preparation of the sets to be used for stage performance. I also watch the final rehearsals to ensure the performance meets the theatre’s standards.
Back in the day, the National Theatre was the place to be for entertainment. For all performances, there were student shows on Thursdays, and Fridays were set aside for other drama clubs. Saturdays and Sundays were for general shows.
However, over time, there has been a decline in theatre performance. One of the reasons for this is because Ugandans have a habit of jumping on anything new that comes along the way. People jumped onto musical shows and now comedy.
That aside, there is lack of leadership in Uganda on many levels. When these drama groups lost their leadership, they died a natural death. Many of the playwrights, including Semwogerere Wankalubo, Omugave Ndugwa of The Black Pearls, Katete of Katete Omumbale, Christopher Natalubwa, Bob Fred Mpima of Nabugabo Theatre Stars among others left the country for greener pastures. Their departure left the groups without leaders to fill the vacuum. The groups started disintegrating. Some actors were called for joint casts and slowly faded off the performance scene. Other playwrights, who did not go for greener pastures left drama and went into other fields.

Performing groups
There were some Kampala-based groups such as Lugazi Dramatic Society from Lugazi, in Buikwe District, Masaka Tiger Actors of Msibi from Masaka, and Kinimba Actors from Kigezi. Whenever they were performing, people hailing from those areas filled the auditorium.
The creation of other rival theatres such as Pride Theatre brought stiff competition to the National Theatre.
Another factor that reduced the National Theatre’s audience was the start of stadium performances. These were much cheaper, with different performing groups able to perform on a single day, unlike the theatre. The excuse is that we don’t have the space to accommodate the numbers but it’s more than space. At the National Theatre, we have strict standards on what is performed here. Few of the artists who organise stadium shows meet the National Theatre standards.
The degeneration of discipline in the Ugandan society has also had its impact on theatre attendance. At the National Theatre, we have our rules, bottles and glasses are not allowed in the auditorium, but people want to watch as they drink. Phones have to be switched off during the shows.
The closure of Shimon Demonstration School in Kampala affected schools drama competitions. Since they were held during holidays, the school provided accommodation to more than 40 primary schools. It also housed students from secondary schools and teacher training colleges during the drama competitions. Due to its proximity to the theatre, it was easier to control the students and it kept the costs on the side of the schools manageable. With its closure, schools were scattered around town and this affected management of the schools competition in terms of costs. As a result, schools drama competitions have become a rarity at the National Theatre. Instead, they have been replaced by the nursery schools drama.
Changes in the theatre management came with changes in the rules. There was a time when drama groups from upcountry were housed within the National Theatre. However, this stopped. As a result, it raised operational costs of the upcountry performing groups that wanted to perform at the National Theatre.
Save for the European group, KADS, there is no local drama performing group that consistently performs at the National Theatre. It’s going to be hard to bring the local groups that dominated the performance scene back to their former glory. Many playwrights are no longer there to come up with good scripts. At the moment, drama performance is dead and it’s being replaced with comedy. Our indigenous groups want to work on improvisations sometimes not basing on scripts. At the time it was the entertainment hub of Kampala, there were groups which ensured full house. These included The Ebonies, Nabugabo Theatre Stars, Mulago Theater Stars, The Shavians, Concern International of Alex Mukulu, The Theaterikos of Christopher Mukiibi, Nalubale Theatre Stars of Mulindwa Muwonge, Masaka Tiger Actors, The Black Pearls and schools like St Balikuddembe Mitala Maria, Mityana S.S.S.
With these people and groups getting off the drama scene with no potential replacements, local drama is on its death bed, unless something drastic measures are taken to revive the performing industry.”